Slumping Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trying to finish Blue Jays season on high note - Sportsnet.ca

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As Vladimir Guerrero Jr. enters the final games of another disappointing (by his standards) season, ArdenZwelling explores what the Blue Jays first baseman can do to improve next year.

Reaching base in all four of his plate appearances, three of them via extra-base hit, Guerrero had the kind of game many in baseball expected to be common when he forced his way to the majors last season at the age of 20 as one of the best prospects anyone had ever seen.

With no fans in the stands, you could hear Guerrero cursing to himself on the broadcast. You couldn’t hear him two pitches later, when he grounded out softly to third and failed to score the runner. But his body language when he got back to the dugout said it all: To be fair, this strange season is only 60 games, making it difficult to contextualize any player’s results. Maybe Guerrero would take off with more runway to figure things out. But a small sample’s the only sample we have. And if you put his first two seasons together, you get a 106 OPS+ over 733 plate appearances, suggesting he’s been exactly what he’s been — a slightly above-average MLB hitter.

But it’s not only about how hard the ball comes off your bat — the direction matters, too. Guerrero’s groundball rate is 54.7 per cent, 10th-highest among all qualified hitters. League average is 42.6. Now, that stat isn’t everything. Juan Soto’s groundball rate is 53.5 per cent and DJ LeMahieu’s is 58.2. But those players have been able to sustain strong seasons in spite of it. Guerrero hasn’t.

“Too much, I think, has been made of getting the ball in the air with him,” says Dante Bichette, the Blue Jays major-league coach who saw Guerrero’s minor-league career up close as he progressed through Toronto’s system with his son, Bo. “Listen, we all know 27-degree launch angle, 105 exit speed, is damage on the pull side. Here’s the problem with that. We can’t just go, ‘hey, do this because that’s the most damage.

 

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ArdenZwelling Vladdy is overrated

ArdenZwelling Not ready for 1st base at all

ArdenZwelling Loose 60 pounds

ArdenZwelling 21 year old who is avg at best at the plate and can’t play defence. So you have a 21 year old DH. I’m not a fan of that reality. At 21 you should know the basic fundamentals of 1B defence. Vladdy doesn’t possess MLB defensive skills imo and that’s a problem.

ArdenZwelling I think he's too stuck in his ways for how we grew up he needs to move away from that and start his own life

ArdenZwelling 21 years old and playing a new position... let’s maybe give him some time before worrying about every little slump.

ArdenZwelling Let’s see how he does when it matters before passing judgment.

ArdenZwelling Get him real managers

ArdenZwelling Hit the gym hard and get a good trainer to help him work on footwork and bat angle all off season. He’s got all the tools and talent to be an all star player for years to come.

ArdenZwelling He's responsible for 19.07% of all wings consumed in Buffalo

ArdenZwelling Maybe lose about 40 pounds

ArdenZwelling With 3 RBI last night, Vlad Jr. passed Rajai Davis and Mookie Wilson for sole possession of 87th on the BlueJays all-time RBI list. He’s 21 years old. Get your facts right. He’s been fine this year.

ArdenZwelling Lose 40lbs

ArdenZwelling Dude literally was a beast last night. Please publish more articles where you attempt to chirp him.

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